by Matthew Cardinale
www.opednews.com
A homosexual student
who was expelled
last month from
Trinity Christian
Academy High School
in Dallas, Texas, is
now facing
additional problems
at home and says he
may be kicked out of
his house by his
parents due to the
media fallout from
the incident.
"My parents couldn't
believe it," James
Barnett, 18,
recalled in a phone
interview Monday.
In an email he
added, "My parents
have worked with me
on keeping My-Boi.com
open [James's gay
support website],
but my Mom doesn't
like the fact that
I'm gay and doesn't
approve of it."
James has also had
his hopes to attend
college
significantly
crushed when his
parents told him
they were
withholding
financial assistance
for him to attend
college because of
his sexual
orientation unless
he stayed in Dallas
and went to the
University of Texas,
presumably so they
could keep tabs on
him.
But James wishes to
attend an
out-of-state school
like Purdue
University, in
Indiana, where he
has already been
accepted, or the
University of
Washington, where he
recently also
applied.
The latest fight
with James's parents
occurred when James
shared with them
that he had been
contacted by "Good
Morning America"
twice in the last
week to appear on
the TV show. James
has recently
contacted ABC to
discuss his interest
in appearing on the
show to share his
recent ordeal.
"They don't want the
press involved," in
his life, James
explains of his
parents, "and think
it's in my worst
interest."
James says he
fortunately has
enough part-time
business income from
his web hosting
service that he will
be able to afford
basic apartment
living expenses if
his parents kick him
out.
PointBlanc operates
a number of web
services, including
the one that fueled
controversy for
James at his
Christian school,
My-Boi.com. My-Boi
is a site for glbt
youth to communicate
especially if they
live in a
conservative
environment or
attend a
conservative school.
The rest of James's
time he is
continuing to devote
to finishing his
senior year at a
public high school
in Texas, to where
he recently
transferred. "Public
school is just as
nice," he added.
"The teachers pay
just as much
attention to you."
But graduating high
school will be the
least of his worries
this year as James's
Mom and Dad
reportedly both
threatened to kick
him out if he
chooses to appear on
ABC.
It wouldn't be the
first recent media
publicity for James,
who says, "There's
literally thousands
of cases where this
happens to other
kids, but there
hasn't been much
publicity for them.
Being on Good
Morning America
might change
people's views."
A Good Morning
America appearance,
however, may be the
last straw in the
eyes of James's
parents.
Barnett's story
first appeared on an
internet blog called
NotGeniuses.com,
written by Ryan
Davis, where it was
reprinted on the
popular site Daily
Kos and archived at
Buzzflash.com.
Since then,
Barnett's story has
been covered on the
Dallas Morning News
and in gay and
lesbian
publications.
James's story was
reportedly also
discussed on
conservative talk
radio, defended by
the Human Rights
Council (HRC) on the
Bill O'Reilly Show,
and attacked by the
right wing nuts at
FreeRepublic.com.
None of this would
have happened, says
James, if Trinity
Christian Academy (TCA)
hadn't violated his
privacy rights by
"out-ing" him to his
parents.
As reported by Ryan
Davis, TCA called
James's parents in
to the principal's
office on the day he
was "expelled" to
discuss his sexual
orientation with
them, completely
without his consent.
"That's been a
question for a lot
of people," James
says.
"Because I'm 18 and
an adult and should
have the right to
privacy."
His parents were not
aware of his sexual
orientation, he
says, prior to his
being out-ed by his
school. "My website,
My-Boi.com, was
hosted out of my
house for six months
and my parents never
even saw it."
James says he
realized he was
attracted to other
males when he was in
the 8th grade, and
continued to grapple
with his identity
until coming out in
the 11th grade to a
few close friends
and TCA
administrators who
were all supportive.
Still, the question
arises whether
privacy regulations
for students carry
in private school
settings. The
American Civil
Liberties Union
(ACLU) initially
took an interest in
his case but
reportedly won't
touch it because TCA
is a private
organization.
Additionally, it's
more than a legal
issue here; it's an
issue about a how a
school has
negatively impacted
the life and family
of a bright,
generous student
with so much
potential.
James was
technically
withdrawn from TCA
by his father in a
compromise worked
out with
administrators to
make sure it didn't
say "expulsion" on
his academic record.
But it was expulsion
in every sense of
the word, says
James.
The chain of events
that led to the
expulsion is a
troubling tale of
secret maneuvering
by administrators,
who James
specifically asked
not to tell his
parents what he
discussed with them.
Initially, some
administrators
advised James to
tell the school
principal that he
was "confused," that
he would take down
his web business,
and would attend
psychological
counseling.
The school later
issued the following
statement, as
reported by the
Dallas Morning News:
"As a community of
Christian families
we also believe the
Bible provides
insight to help us
discern God's desire
for our conduct"
Therefore we demand
high Biblical
standards of
behavior from our
students both
academically and
socially. Our
families are asked
to embrace these
standards of conduct
by signing a
covenant with the
school when students
are admitted. Within
this framework of
Biblical standards
and academic rigor,
an atmosphere of
enhanced learning,
character
development, and
love are allowed to
flourish."
"Being in the middle
of Dallas," James
says, "Everybody,
all the kids at my
school would use the
word f*g, or queer,
and say, you know,
'that's so gay,'
even if it's
jokingly. We had a
[former] Bible
teacher who said
homosexuals are
going to Hell," he
continues, in
describing his
intolerant
environment growing
up.
"I'd been there [at
TCA] since
Kindergarten. This
was my 13th year
there. I was one
year away from
graduating and had
been there so long.
I had established
relationships and
had a life there,"
he adds.
At the present time,
Barnett is still
living with his
parents and is
trying to decide
whether to go on ABC
television with his
story. He plans to
graduate high school
still in May; all
his credits
transferred from TCA
to public school
except for fine arts
and bible class.
But his trust, he
says, will forever
be shaken. "What the
school did, every
constant in my life
for 13 years was
changed. My trust in
the school, and in
people I'd known
personally, was
violated. And they
didn't even have the
courtesy to tell me
they were calling my
parents?"
Matthew Cardinale is a freelance writer, activist, and graduate student
at UC Irvine in sociology and democracy studies. A longer version of this
article, and periodic updates on the issue, are available at his
Opednews.com blog at http://www.opednews.com/blogMatthewCardinale.htm.
He may be reached at mcardina@uci.edu
.
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